Thoughts on the future of the OGL

For the last couple of weeks everyone has been talking about the…lets say, “kerfuffle” around the Open Gaming License.

For those under a rock, an alleged new version of the Open Game License was leaked (tentatively called OGL 1.1) . It had a number of controversial clauses, such as large publishers needing to pay Wizards of the Coast royalties if they use their OGL-licensed SRD and sell above a certain threshold.

But the most concerning clause (for us, anyways) is the one where the OGL 1.1 will de-authorize and automatically supersede the OGL 1.0a, which our Action! System uses.

First of all, no one really believes that they can legally do that. The license seems clear about that, as does the opinions of everyone originally involved in the OGL’s creation.

The concern is that Wizards of the Coast might act like they believe they can legally do that. None of us small indie publishers can finance a battle against a Hasbro subsidiary!

Thankfully, Paizo has now announced a new license which they are calling the Open RPG Creative License (ORC). A few of the other larger publishers are also joining them in this new endeavor.

For this reason, it is time to push forward the release of the Action! System 2.0. The world needs this open gaming pioneer to return.

Going forward, the plan is now that Action! System 2.0 will be released under the OGL 1.0a as well as the new ORC, when it becomes available.

We are making the preparations now. The future should be exciting!

This might have one negative consequence, however: ADD: Old-School Basics may be delayed a bit, but we think this is the right call.